


Be My Valentine

by whitewoofgeralt



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Modern AU setting, One Shot, Sort Of, Valentine's Day, a late valentine's day fic, flower shop au, no powers, past angst, post-serum Steve, soft, two idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22762315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitewoofgeralt/pseuds/whitewoofgeralt
Summary: Another Valentine's Day spent alone. A surprise visit.OrIn which Bucky and Steve get their shit together after spending 10 years apart.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	Be My Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> this story is for michelle. she puts up with my inconsistency and she deserves this softness. 
> 
> also a special thanks to NurseDarry for the beta! all remaining mistakes remain my own.

Bucky Barnes hated Valentine’s Day… and no, it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he was depressingly single. Again. Seriously, he had no problem with that. What he did have a problem with, however, was the fact that he was stuck alone in the shop, working overtime  _ again _ because apparently this dumb commercial holiday was reason enough to request time off work and he’d been dumb enough to grant it. Oh, and he just stuck himself with yet another thorn and dammit, that  _ hurt _ .

Why he’d thought opening up a flower shop in a sea of already successful flower shops in the city was a good idea was beyond him. Okay, maybe he was technically one of those successful shops but still.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Bucky put the final touches on the last order of the day and stepped back, feeling a little smug with himself despite his earlier annoyance. He could grouch all he wanted, but at the end of the day, Bucky was proud of his work. Proud of his shop.

“Good job, Barnes,” he muttered, damn near close to giving himself a pat on the back for surviving yet another holiday, when the bell above the door jingled. Unable to keep his brows from furrowing and his lips pursing, Bucky looked up just as a man stepped inside.

And okay, maybe the unhappiness eased from his face when Bucky got a good look at him, but still… seriously, dude? It was thirty minutes to close and he had a really hot date with the leftovers in his fridge. Yet, he’d always been a sucker for a man who looked like he could toss Bucky over his shoulder and show him a thing or two.

So, schooling his features into something that looked a little more welcoming, Bucky leaned up against the counter just as the guy stepped forward. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, a sheepish smile on his face that was already sporting a pretty impressive blush – like he could tell exactly what Bucky was thinking.

It made the corners of Bucky’s mouth tug up into a little smirk. God, this guy was something else with his too-long blond hair and impeccably trimmed beard. Actually, now that Bucky was getting a good look at him, he felt a small jolt of recognition that left him more than a little confused. And yet –

He knew that crooked nose. Sure, it may have belonged on a body a little smaller, but it was the same one.

But that couldn’t be right, could it? Because that would mean Steve was here, standing in front of him and Bucky hadn’t seen him since he all but pushed Steve out the door, telling him he’d be a damn fool not to take the opportunity to finish his art degree aboard. That, even though despite Steve’s protests, he’d end up resenting Bucky for being the reason he stayed behind.

And okay, sure, this Steve was broader now, but it was definitely him. What the  _ fuck _ ?

“Hi, Bucky.”

Oh god,  _ Steve _ .

Bucky felt his mouth go dry as he stood there, eyes locked with Steve as he tried desperately to get himself to say something. Anything. Nothing seemed right. Hello seemed too impersonal, hi seemed too casual even though Steve had just said it. Like  _ hi _ , _ Bucky _ could erase the last ten years that they haven’t seen each other. Talked to each other.

Bucky didn’t know whether to punch the guy or kiss him, figured maybe both seemed fitting even if a little unfair. It took two to tango, after all, and those last ten years didn’t find Bucky picking up the damn phone either.

Still, Steve was here, and he was in Bucky’s shop looking too much like he belonged here. In Bucky’s space – in his life. He had no idea what to do with any of it, because goddammit, he couldn’t stand here and lie to himself. He had missed Steve with everything he had. He missed in him every failed relationship – the way he laughed, his stubbornness and the easy way in which he could take Bucky apart.

Why didn’t he realize this sooner? Of course, Steve-fucking-Rogers would be the reason that Bucky couldn’t move on.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “I think I’ve missed you, pal.”

A glimmer of something that Bucky dared not hope on flickered across Steve’s face as he smiled, slow and sweet and just a little unsure. “Yeah? Because honestly, Buck, I think I’ve missed you too.”

Needing something to do with his hands that wasn’t grabbing a fistful of Steve’s peacoat, Bucky picked up a cloth and began to wipe down the counter. “So uh, what are you doing here?”

Steve shrugged as he pulled his hands out of the pockets of his coat and leaned against the counter, his gaze steady on Bucky’s even though Bucky was having a hard time meeting it. Seriously, what the fuck?

Steve showing up like this had ripped the floor out from underneath him and left him adrift – unsure of what to do, what to say next. How could Steve be so confident right now? So at ease when Bucky felt like he was swimming in emotions that felt way too big for well,  _ everything _ .

He shouldn’t be feeling like this, should he? Ten years was a long time for two people to go without communication to still feel like…no time had passed at all. Sure, Steve looked a little older, the laugh lines at his eyes a little more pronounced, but he still looked as good as he had the day that they broke each other’s hearts.

“Would it be too much if I said that I’m here to see you?”

Bucky bit his lip as he stopped his movements to look up at Steve. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But only because I don’t know what to do with it. It’s been… a long time, Steve.”

“Ten years,” Steve agreed. He straightened, ran a hand through his hair – a clear sign that he was feeling anxious. For some reason, the tell brought a little bit of comfort; at least that part of Steve was still exactly the same.

“A friend told me that this would be crazy.”

Bucky raised a brow at that as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “Can’t say they’re not wrong.”

“They also said I’d be a fool not to at least come here, see you. Talk to you.”

“Well, I’m all ears, pal.”

“You shouldn’t have made me leave that day.”

“Steve….” Bucky sighed, unable to help the sadness that creeped in. He didn’t want to have this conversation even knowing that they needed to. “You -”

Steve held up a hand, stopping Bucky. “But I’m glad you did.”

“Oh.”

“You were right, you know. I would have regretted it down the line. Would have always wondered what if. But you did get something wrong, though.”

“And what’s that?” Bucky could feel his heart knocking against his ribcage, wondered how in the hell it hadn’t busted through yet.

Steve leaned across the counter, putting himself a little closer into Bucky’s space. And like a goddamn magnet, Bucky found himself inching in.

“I wouldn’t have resented you, even if I had stayed. You were the biggest part of my life back then, Bucky. I wanted to share everything with you. Even Europe.”

“Then why didn’t you ask me to come with you?” It was a question that had been burning his ass for the better part of ten years.

Steve’s face softened, turned a little sad. A little wistful. “For the same reasons you made me. I couldn’t ask you to give up your internship at Stark Industries. Not after you had worked so hard to get it.”

Bucky scoffed. “Look around, Stevie. Does it look like that internship got me anywhere? I would have chosen you a hundred times over.”

“Maybe,” Steve said. “But I had the same fears you did. I didn’t want to hold you back anymore than you wanted to hold me back.”

Steve looked away from Bucky, his eyes glancing around the shop. “I don’t know what happened with Stark Industries, but I think you’re doing more than all right for yourself.”

“How’d you know where to find me?”

“I have friends in high places.”

“I spiralled after you left,” Bucky whispered, not quite sure why he was telling Steve this. “Not in a bad way, but I think I struggled to find out who I was outside of you. So, I joined the Army, did a couple tours in Afghanistan before I realized this wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. When my contract was up, I didn’t sign on for another.”

Steve frowned. “I didn’t know that.”

“How would you?” Bucky asked, a little more heat behind the words than he intended. “You didn’t call. Didn’t write.”

“Neither did you, Bucky.”

Bucky deflated as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “You’re right. I’m sorry…. I guess I’m still a little pissed off about the whole thing.”

“I’d change it if, I could.”

“I know.”

“What did you after you left the army?”

“Spent a lot of my time holed away in my shitty apartment, too goddamn jumpy to be out in public. When I did manage to pull myself out of it, I connected with the VA. Did some volunteer work. Got a job at a flower shop, and then well….” he shrugged. “Bit the bullet and decided to open my own. I like the work.”

“That’s good, Buck.”

“What about you, pal? The last I heard you were still living in Rome.”

“Keeping tabs on me?” Steve asked, brow raised.

“I mean, my mom ran into your mom a couple years ago and told her.”

Steve made a sound like he believed him but probably knew damn well that Bucky was lying through his teeth. “If you say so, Bucky.”

Bucky rolled his eyes with a huff. “Shut up, pal.”

They stood in silence for awhile, and it surprised him how comfortable it was. To just be standing here with Steve. Not talking. Right here, right now… it felt like no time had passed at all. Like they were still two kids in love who thought nothing could come between them.

Truth of it was, Bucky still loved Steve; knew that there was no point in trying to deny it now that it was staring him straight in the face.

“So, what do we do now?” he asked.

“I guess it depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not you want to be my Valentine, Buck.”

“You saying you jumped on a plane, flew all the way to New York, just to ask me to be your Valentine?”

This time when Steve smiled, it was big and sure and so damn bright that Bucky felt something inside of him shift and settle.

“Did you expect anything less?”

“Zero to a hundred,” Bucky muttered, amused. “That’s always been your style. But I gotta be honest here, pal. Ten years is a long fucking time. What if….it doesn’t work?”

“I’m willing to take the risk if you are. Be my Valentine, Buck.” Moving around the counter, Steve crowded Bucky up against the counter, his hand sliding up Bucky’s forearm.

“Be my Valentine today, tomorrow… every goddamn day, sweetheart. Because I’ve tried to live without you, but I can’t. I don’t want to.” He leaned in, his lips so close to Bucky’s that all he had to do was tip his head up and they’d be kissing.

“Steve…” He could feel the tears well up in his eyes and dammit, he didn’t want to cry. But when Steve reached up, used the pad of his thumb to brush away the tear that escaped, he gave in. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be your Valentine. But on one condition.”

“What’s that sweetheart?”

“You gotta kiss me.”

“I think I can handle that.”

And he did. 


End file.
